MIAMI – With remnants of the jerseys the New Orleans Pelicans usually wear for their other 81 games of the regular season, the specially-designed uniforms sported by the team today were given a thumbs-up by players this morning inside AmericanAirlines Arena.
“They’re nice,” guard Eric Gordon said. “They just have a good, clean look about them. It’s a very classy look.”
“They’re cool and different,” fellow backcourt starter Tyreke Evans said. “I like them.”
The dark blue uniforms with a “Pelicans” script across the front have a similar look to what all 10 teams are wearing throughout the day. As has been the case in past years, the outfits are one-time-only uniforms.
Other notes from pregame:
Although he already had indicated that might be the case, Alvin Gentry affirmed pregame that Jrue Holiday will now be allowed to play in both games of back-to-backs. That means Holiday will be available tomorrow, when New Orleans hosts Houston. …
Gentry on the trade of Ish Smith: “He was great for us. He did everything that I asked him to do, from the standpoint of pace and pushing the basketball. Obviously with Tyreke and Jrue coming off minute restrictions, and Norris (Cole) being healthy, there wasn’t a lot of (playing) time for (Smith). This is a good thing for him, too. I think he’ll play a lot of minutes in Philly… He’s a great, great, great kid. He’ll be in this league a long time.” …
The popularity of NBA League Pass increases every season, but there are still many fans who can’t watch New Orleans on a regular basis across the country or globe. That’s not lost on Pelicans players, who understand that a Christmas game will be viewed by a very wide audience. “It’s a national TV game that you can probably see around the world,” Gordon said. “It’s definitely a game you look forward to playing, when you have the chance to on Christmas.” Evans: “I’m quite sure a lot of people are watching back home, and people around the world are watching. So I’m just happy and excited to be a part of it.”
